In today's climate
of cynicism and stale rhetoric, Gordon Leidner refreshingly
takes us back to the subjects that were most significant
to Lincoln. They are: the Nation's founders; the American
people; preserving the government; law and politics; the
meaning of freedom; leadership; faith; and finally, our duty
to preserve all that is good about our country for future
generations of Americans. In addition to a short Lincoln
biography, Leidner precedes each chapter with an enlightening
paragraph summarizing the subject and putting each issue
in perfect perspective for today's readers.

That covers the Country in
the title, but what's God got to do with it? Although
Lincoln was not initially a religious man, he firmly respected
the values found in modern religion and lived his life accordingly.
As he matures, we see through his writings how this formed
the basis of his actions and his extraordinary strength of
character. Leidner's selections serve to enhance our understanding
of Lincoln and these values. As stated in Michael Burlingame's
introduction, "The speeches and letters gathered here offer
a revealing portrait of Lincoln in both phases of his remarkable
career. We hear the purple prose, the satirical wit, and
the occasional demagoguery of the 1830s and 1840s and the
surpassing eloquence of the 1850s and 1860s." This change
of perspective from Lincoln's early and later writings may
be attributable to his renewed interest in religion.

Ed Bearss adds
to this by writing that Leidner's use of Lincoln's words, "illustrates
the genius of a man who attended only six months of 'blab'
schools but spoke to the ages, a talent that eludes today's
speech writers and spin doctors." It was the political sentiments
of that era, the religious environment of that time, and
the moral strength of the man himself which combined to make
Abraham Lincoln the remarkable individual he was, an individual
who appeared on the scene during a period of our country's
greatest need.

Leidner provides
more gems for his readers with lesson plans and web resources
to accompany the book. These can be found on his web site,
greatamericanhistory.com.

Our country will
forever be indebted to Abraham Lincoln. We also are indebted
to Gordon Leidner for helping us better understand both why
we owe this debt, and the extraordinary individual to whom
we owe it.